Page 3 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

Baker and I walk out together, leaving RJ and Colt with clean-up duty. Serves them right, as they keep half of the profit for themselves. We climb up a ladder, into the belly of an old warehouse, and hop the half-wall onto the street.

At the street corner, Baker hooks his thumb in the opposite direction from campus. “My girl is waiting for me at Moe’s. I’ll see you later?”

I grunt. The left side of my face throbs. I force my arms to remain at my sides and head home. The sooner I’m back, the sooner I can put ice on it and veg out. I have a psych exam tomorrow afternoon that’ll require my full attention.

My phone beeps.

Theo: How’d it go?

I didn’t even bother checking the envelope, but it’ll get me through the month—maybe even longer. I hate focusing on financials, that it got so bad I had to borrow…

Except, Theo said I didn’t owe him anything. Caleb said as much, too, when he visited last semester with gifts in tow. Namely, a new computer that I almost refused.

They’re assholes, but they love me.

And I needed the help.

Me: Baker gave me a run for my money.

Theo: Weird.

I scoff and shove my phone back into my pocket. I pass the entrance to campus and continue down the block, to a brownstone nestled in a row of similar buildings. This particular one is owned by the college and falls under my housing scholarship. I have two housemates but the room to myself.

Perfectly fine with me.

The housing scholarship ends next semester, leaving me on my own for junior and senior year. I’m already planning out how many fights I’ll need to win to even consider paying rent in Boston.

My two housemates, guys I knew from a few classes last year but don’t really have much in common with, are out. I toss my keys onto the kitchen island and rummage through the freezer for a bag of peas.

No one better bother me for the next hour.

I flop onto the couch, let out a groan, and kick my feet up on the coffee table. Carefully, I tilt my head and place the frozen peas on the left side of my face. I close my eyes and let myself zone out as I unwrap the bandages from my hands. I’ve done it so many times, I don’t need to watch. They’ll need to be cleaned or tossed, but that’s a problem for later. I drop them beside me.

What feels like minutes later, the living room light flicks on.

“Liam!”

I jerk upright, barely catching the peas from hitting my lap. My housemates are standing in front of the television, staring at me.

“What?” I ask, trading glances between the two of them.

Henry will probably become president one day. He’s got the brains for it, the drive, and the ethics. And Tony has his eyes on NASA. How I ended up with these two guys for friends is beyond me… but now they’re watching me like I’m the freak in the apartment.

“Guys…”

Henry jabs Tony’s arm. “Show him.”

I narrow my eyes.

Tony fidgets, pulling out his phone and tapping on it. He hands it to me, eyes wide. “Don’t freak out on us, okay? Besides the fact that this is probably illegal…”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I snatch the phone from him.

He leans down and hits ‘play.’

The loudness of it is shocking. Someone yells, and then the video, which was blurry up until now, crystalizes.

My heart plummets into my stomach.

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